News
Holiday bookings scams
December 2024 by Maciej Pitucha, VP of Product & Data, Mangopay
“The holiday season is a time for peak sales across all sectors. Yet, it’s also a period when fraudsters lie in wait, ready to blend in with real users and trick fraud detection systems as much as possible. Travel platforms become prime targets during this time and should remain vigilant to protect consumers from sophisticated digital fraud.
© Vilmos Varga
“Last year, a staggering 13.9 million Brits planned to search for or book a holiday on three key dates - 24th,27th and 28th December - as a way to save money or have something to look forward to after the busy festive season. However, this surge in online bookings, paired with a shift in the industry toward online booking platforms and mobile-first searches, has created a perfect storm for cybercriminals to sadly target consumers booking a holiday.
“Fraudsters are not just targeting financial transactions but all aspects of the holiday planning process. They exploit loyalty programmes, stealing accumulated points and reselling them; while impersonation scams and automated bots disrupt these platforms by hoarding discounted tickets or inflating demand and prices.
“The consequences extend far beyond immediate financial loss. These sophisticated attacks undermine consumer trust, potentially damaging the reputation of travel booking platforms that serve as critical intermediaries in the wider travel ecosystem. What’s more, fraud can disrupt or affect the account-based ecosystem that these travel platforms work so hard to build, potentially compromising their efforts and leading to long-term negative effects on their operations.
Holidays are so much more than a simple transaction; they’re emotional investments in memories and experiences. Therefore, the stakes for robust fraud detection have never been higher to reassure consumers that their holiday purchase will be protected, throughout all of the purchasing journey.”
